Optical fiber axis fixing method

Abstract

The invention discloses an optical fiber axis fixing method, which comprises the following steps: S110, preprocessing an optical fiber to expose a fiber core at the end part of the optical fiber; s120, the fiber core is placed in the positioning groove of the bar, and the end face of the fiber core retracts back to the positioning groove so as to be arranged at an interval with the grinding and polishing face of the bar; s130, fixing the fiber core relative to the positioning groove; and S140, grinding and polishing the grinding and polishing surface of the bar and the end surface of the fiber core. As the end face of the fiber core retracts into the positioning groove by a certain length, the time for grinding and polishing the fiber core and the bar at the same time can be shortened, the height difference between the end face of the fiber core and the grinding and polishing face after grinding and polishing can be reduced, the coupling effect during subsequent coupling with an optical device is improved, transmission of optical signals is prevented from being affected, and large scattering loss is prevented from occurring. And the device performance is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of optical fiber technology, and specifically relates to an optical fiber axis positioning method. Background Art

[0002] The preparation process of the optical fiber array includes steps such as optical fiber fixing and polishing. Optical fiber fixing means that the fiber core is accurately fixed on the bar, and polishing means polishing the end faces of the bar and the fiber core to facilitate subsequent connection with optical devices.

[0003] At present, during the polishing process of the fiber core and bar bar, due to the different materials of the fiber core and bar bar, for example, the material of the fiber core is usually quartz, and the material of the bar bar is usually lithium niobate, there will inevitably be a height difference between the end face of the fiber core and the polished surface of the bar bar (the polished surface) during the polishing process. The existing fiber core and bar bar are polished for too long at the same time, resulting in a large height difference between the end face of the fiber core and the polished surface of the bar bar, which affects the coupling effect in the subsequent coupling process between the optical fiber array and the optical device, affects the transmission of the optical signal, and causes large scattering loss, affecting the performance of the device. Summary of the invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present application is that the height difference between the end face of the fiber core and the end face of the bar in the existing optical fiber array is large, which affects the coupling effect between the optical fiber array and the optical device. In order to solve this technical problem, a method for aligning the axis of an optical fiber is provided.

[0005] The technical solution proposed in this application is: A method for aligning an optical fiber axis, comprising the steps of: S110, pre-processing the optical fiber to expose the fiber core at the end of the optical fiber; S120, placing the fiber core in the positioning groove of the bar, and retracting the end face of the fiber core into the positioning groove to be spaced apart from the polished surface of the bar; S130, fixing the fiber core relative to the positioning groove; S140, grinding and polishing the polished surface of the bar and the end face of the fiber core.

[0006] By adopting the above-mentioned optical fiber axis positioning method, since the end face of the fiber core is retracted into the positioning groove for a certain length, when the polishing length of the bar strip is fixed, the polishing length of the fiber core will be reduced, that is, the time for polishing the fiber core and the bar strip at the same time will be reduced, thereby reducing the height difference between the end face of the fiber core and the polishing surface after polishing, improving the coupling effect when coupling with the optical device in the subsequent step, avoiding affecting the transmission of the optical signal and causing large scattering loss, and improving the performance of the device. Furthermore, step S110 further includes: S111, heating the optical fiber; S112, stripping off the coating layer at the end of the optical fiber to expose the fiber core; S113, cutting the exposed end of the fiber core.

[0007] Furthermore, step S120 further includes: S121, clamping the optical fiber by a fiber clamp; S122, placing the fiber core into the positioning groove under observation by the CCD camera, and aligning the panda eyes of the fiber core horizontally; S123, pressing the fiber core tightly into the positioning groove.

[0008] Further, in step S122: the length of the exposed fiber core is smaller than the length of the positioning groove, and the exposed fiber core is located in the positioning groove.

[0009] Furthermore, the interval between the end face of the fiber core and the polished surface of the bar is not less than 10 μm.

[0010] Furthermore, step S130 further includes: S131, dispensing glue between the positioning groove and the fiber core; S132, curing the glue.

[0011] Furthermore, a plurality of positioning grooves are provided at intervals on the bar, and a fiber core is placed in each positioning groove; The optical fiber axis determination method further comprises the steps of: S150, cutting the bar into multiple pieces, each of which is connected to at least one optical fiber. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The accompanying drawings are used to provide further understanding of the present application and constitute a part of the specification. They are used to explain the present application together with the embodiments of the present application and do not constitute a limitation of the present application.

[0013] Figure 1 A flowchart of a method for aligning an optical fiber axis provided in one embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0015] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise" and the like indicating orientations or positional relationships are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0016] The present application provides an optical fiber axis positioning method for preparing an optical fiber array that can be coupled with an optical device.

[0017] See also Figure 1 In one embodiment, the optical fiber axis positioning method comprises the steps of: S110, pre-processing the optical fiber to expose the fiber core at the end of the optical fiber.

[0018] Furthermore, step S110 includes: S111, heating the optical fiber. Optionally, placing the end of the optical fiber on a hot plate, heating to 80° C. for 10 seconds.

[0019] S112, stripping the coating layer at the end of the optical fiber to expose the fiber core. Optionally, use a thermal stripping pliers to strip the coating layer at the end of the optical fiber.

[0020] S113, cutting the end of the exposed fiber core so that the length of the exposed fiber core is smaller than the length of the positioning groove.

[0021] After the pre-processing of the optical fiber is completed, step S120 is executed.

[0022] S120, placing the fiber core in the positioning groove of the bar bar, and retracting the end face of the fiber core into the positioning groove to be spaced apart from the polished surface of the bar bar.

[0023] In conjunction with the above step S113, it should be noted that when the fiber core is placed in the positioning groove, the exposed fiber core needs to be completely in the positioning groove, and the cut surface of the optical fiber coating will abut against the surface of the bar opposite to the polished surface. In step S113, the length of the exposed fiber core after cutting is less than the length of the positioning groove, so after the exposed fiber core is completely placed in the positioning groove, there will be a gap between the end face of the fiber core and the polished surface. Preferably, the gap is not less than 10μm. More preferably, the gap is 15μm, that is, the length of the exposed fiber core is 15μm less than the length of the positioning groove.

[0024] It should be further explained that the distance between the end face of the fiber core and the polishing surface cannot be too large, and it is necessary to ensure that the optical fiber will not fall off the bar during the polishing process. Therefore, the above-mentioned distance is preferably 10-20 μm.

[0025] Further, step S120 includes: S121, clamping the optical fiber by means of an optical fiber clamp; wherein the optical fiber clamp is a conventional optical fiber clamp used for clamping the optical fiber to facilitate subsequent movement of the optical fiber.

[0026] S122, the fiber core is placed in the positioning groove under the observation of a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera, and the panda eyes of the fiber core are aligned horizontally. It can be seen that in this embodiment, the optical fiber is a panda-shaped optical fiber. At the same time, the panda eyes of the fiber core are aligned horizontally, that is, at the same horizontal height, and are also adjusted under the observation of the CCD camera. Placing the fiber core under the auxiliary observation of the CCD camera can ensure the accuracy of the operation, that is, while ensuring that all the exposed fiber cores are placed in the positioning groove, it can also ensure that the panda eyes of the fiber core remain horizontal.

[0027] S123, pressing the fiber core into the positioning groove. Optionally, the fiber core is pressed and fixed by a pressing block, which is a conventional tool and is not limited here.

[0028] After the fiber core is placed and compacted by the pressing block, step S130 is performed.

[0029] S130, fix the fiber core relative to the positioning groove. It should be explained that in the above steps, the fiber core is fixed by pressing the pressing block as a temporary fixing means, and after the fiber core is fixed in step S130, the pressing block can be removed.

[0030] Further, step S130 includes: S131, dispensing glue between the positioning groove and the fiber core. Glue is a commonly used material in the art and is not limited here. It should be noted that, since the length of the exposed fiber core is shorter than the length of the positioning groove, compared with the existing preparation method in which the length of the exposed fiber core is the same as the length of the positioning groove, this axis fixing method can reduce the amount of glue used, thereby reducing the occurrence of glue overflow and reducing the contamination of the bar and the optical fiber surface by glue.

[0031] S132, curing the glue. Optionally, the glue may be initially cured by using a point light source, and then the whole is placed in an environment of 85°C for 12 hours for curing.

[0032] After the core is fixed, step S140 is performed.

[0033] S140, grinding and polishing the polished surface of the bar and the end face of the fiber core.

[0034] It should be noted that the polishing length is based on the bar bar, that is, the bar bar needs to be polished to a preset length. In the existing preparation method, before polishing, the end face of the fiber core is flush with the polishing surface. In this embodiment, since the end face of the fiber core is retracted to a certain length in the positioning groove in the above steps, when the polishing length of the bar bar is fixed, the polishing length of the fiber core will be reduced, that is, the time for polishing the fiber core and the bar bar at the same time will be reduced, thereby reducing the height difference between the end face of the fiber core and the polishing surface after polishing, improving the coupling effect when coupling with the optical device later, avoiding affecting the transmission of the optical signal and causing large scattering losses, and improving the performance of the device.

[0035] It should be explained that the existing bar specifications are fixed. If the bar specifications are changed, more equipment needs to be changed, and the cost is high. However, the axis fixing method provided by the present application does not require the bar specifications to be changed, and the cost is low.

[0036] In one embodiment, a plurality of positioning grooves are provided on the bar strip at intervals, and a fiber core is placed in each positioning groove. The fiber core in each positioning groove is operated using the above steps. Thus, the axis fixing method further includes step S150, cutting the bar strip into a plurality of pieces, and each piece of the bar strip is connected to at least one optical fiber.

[0037] In order to facilitate understanding of the advantages of the optical fiber axis positioning method provided by the present application, the following provides embodiments and comparative examples for comparison and explanation: Example 1 The ends of the nine optical fibers are pre-processed to expose the core of each optical fiber end, and then the cores are placed in the positioning grooves of the bar. One core is placed in each positioning groove, and the interval between the end face of each core and the polished surface of the bar is 15μm. Next, the core is fixed in the positioning groove. After the core is fixed, the polished surface of the bar is polished. The polishing process is to first grind with 3μm aluminum oxide for 1.5 hours, and then polish with 50nm silicon oxide for 80 minutes. After the polishing is completed, the bar is cut into 9 pieces. The height difference between the polished surface of the 9 bar and the end face of the corresponding core is shown in Table 1.

[0038] Table 1 Example 2 The same operation as in Example 1 is adopted. The height differences between the polished surfaces of the nine bars and the end faces of the corresponding fiber cores in Example 2 are shown in Table 2.

[0039] Table 2 Comparative Example 1 The ends of the 9 optical fibers were pre-processed to expose the core of each optical fiber end, and then the cores were placed in the positioning grooves of the bar strips. A core was placed in each positioning groove, and the end face of each core protruded from the positioning groove. Next, the portion of the core protruding from the positioning groove was cut off. After the core was cut off, the core was fixed, and then polished in the same polishing method as in Example 1. After polishing, the bar strips were cut into 8 pieces. The height differences between the polished surfaces of the 8 bar strips and the end faces of the corresponding cores are shown in Table 3.

[0040] Table 3 Comparative Example 2 The same operation as in Comparative Example 1 was adopted. In Comparative Example 2, the height differences between the polished surfaces of the eight bars and the end faces of the corresponding fiber cores are shown in Table 4.

[0041] Table 4 From the comparison between the above-mentioned embodiments and the comparative examples, it can be seen that the optical fiber axis positioning method provided in the present application can effectively reduce the height difference between the fiber core end face and the polished surface of the bar, thereby improving the coupling effect during subsequent coupling with the optical device, avoiding affecting the transmission of the optical signal and causing large scattering losses, and improving the performance of the device.

[0042] Although the embodiments of the present application have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present application, and that the scope of the present application is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for aligning the axis of an optical fiber, characterized in that: Includes steps: S110, pre-processing the optical fiber to expose the core at the end of the optical fiber; S120, placing the fiber core in the positioning groove of the bar, and retracting the end face of the fiber core into the positioning groove to be spaced apart from the polished surface of the bar; S130, fixing the fiber core relative to the positioning groove; S140, grinding and polishing the polished surface of the bar and the end face of the fiber core.

2. The optical fiber axis determination method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Step S110 also includes: S111, heating the optical fiber; S112, stripping off the coating layer at the end of the optical fiber to expose the fiber core; S113, cutting the exposed end of the fiber core.

3. The optical fiber axis determination method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Step S120 also includes: S121, clamping the optical fiber by a fiber clamp; S122, placing the fiber core into the positioning groove under observation by the CCD camera, and aligning the panda eyes of the fiber core horizontally; S123, pressing the fiber core tightly into the positioning groove.

4. The optical fiber axis determination method according to claim 3, characterized in that: In step S122: the length of the exposed fiber core is smaller than the length of the positioning groove, and the exposed fiber core is located in the positioning groove.

5. The optical fiber axis determination method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The distance between the end face of the fiber core and the polished surface of the bar is not less than 10μm.

6. The optical fiber axis determination method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Step S130 also includes: S131, dispensing glue between the positioning groove and the fiber core; S132, curing the glue.

7. The optical fiber axis determination method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bar is provided with a plurality of positioning grooves at intervals, and a fiber core is placed in each positioning groove; The optical fiber axis determination method further comprises the steps of: S150, cutting the bar into multiple pieces, each of which is connected to at least one optical fiber.

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